


The Trial of Wally West

by AshWinterGray



Series: Earth 132 [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Heroes in Crisis (DCU Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Detectives, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, I Hated Heroes in Crisis, Innocent until proven guilty, Lazarus Pit, Mind Manipulation, Speed Force, so I fixed it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: It's a common thing among the Batfamily, and the Superhero community in general, to have strong disagreements about the events of Sanctuary. Bart Allen has recently returned from the future, and after everything with the Titans and the Flash family has died down, Bart has some disbeliefs about the testimonies provided.Good thing he knows an amazing detective and his family.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Harleen Quinzel, Barbara Lee Gordon & Helena Wayne, Bart Allen & Tim Drake, Bart Allen & Wally West, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Helena Bertinelli & Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Helena Wayne, Lian Harper & Wally West, Linda Park/Wally West, Michael Carter & Ted Kord, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: Earth 132 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956985
Comments: 9
Kudos: 65





	1. Trouble with Speedsters

It hadn’t taken much at all to convince Captain Marvel to let them into the Watchtower. He was, of course, supervising their visit the entire time, but their special guest gave them brownie points.

“Uncle Wally?”

Wally West, former Flash, was strung up in cell that restricted his movement. A punishment, they had been told, the speedster had requested. He wanted the others to feel safe during the trial. _He_ wanted to feel safe during the trial.

Jason Todd thought the man was an idiot.

“Lian?” Wally breathed as his tired, bloodshot eyes locked on his guests. “What-?”

The doors opened and Lian shot out of Dick’s arms and crashed into Wally. The speedster looked as if he would cry, but he had clear cried himself dry if his scratchy throat was anything to go by. The rest of the group entered the cell.

“Hey, Walls,” Dick greeted his best friend. “Guess who’s back.”

Wally gave him a tired smile. “Yeah, I heard. Dinah let me know.”

Jason pressed the glass of water he brought to Wally’s lips before the speedster could say much else. Wally drank greedily, only stopped by Dick’s careful hands.

“Don’t want you getting sick,” Dick said to Wally’s surprise. “Marvel said you hadn’t been eating or drinking.”

“What are you all doing here?” Wally asked once the cup was taken away.

“Visitin’ you, silly,” Harley grinned at him. “We wanted ta tell ya in person.”

“Tell me…what?”

“We found new evidence, Wally,” Booster Gold placed a hand on Wally’s shoulder. “Evidence that says you were manipulated and used as a weapon. The murders at Sanctuary were involuntary.”

“I…what?”

“You weren’t the one who killed us, Flash,” Poison Ivy told him. “You were simply the weapon made to _look_ as though you had.”

“Perhaps we should start at the beginning,” Jason held up his hands before anyone else could speak. “Everybody get comfortable, because this is going to be bumpy. Wing, get your boyfriend down.”

“He’s not my-” Dick sighed and slid the key into the shackles around Wally. “You know what. Whatever. Were dating now, Wally. Your wife will just need to fight me.”

“O…kay?”

“Right. So this all started when Impulse decided to interrupt our stakeout.”

\----------------------------------

“Still nothing?” Tim asked, half hanging off the roof.

“Not yet,” Helena hummed. “Are we sure that intel is right?”

_“Positive,”_ Batgirl’s voice filtered over the comms. _“Sionis is making his move tonight. If we get the proper evidence, we can lock him away for good.”_

“It had better be some good intel then,” Jason grumbled. “It’s been five hours.”

Helena passed the binoculars off to Tim, who groaned as he accepted them. They were all grumpy. It was three in the morning after all.

“Wait. Wait.” Tim breathed. “I see something.”

Helena and Jason snapped to attention. As they were quickly scrambling to get the other binoculars off the rooftop floor, a blur flew in front of Tim’s line of sight. Tim startled back with a chocked yelp as Impulse suddenly gripped his shoulders.

“TIM! ThankgoodnessIfoundyou! We’vegotamajorproblem! Ireallyneedyourhelp!” YougottahelpmeTim!”

“Impulse,” Tim hissed, slapping his hands away. “You’re ruining our stakeout! I’ve been here five hours!”

Bart Allen took one look at the other two vigilantes, then glanced at the building before zipping off. Then he was standing in front of Tim again, holding a small disposable camera and some papers.

“These are copies of the original documents and photos of their interaction,” Bart shoved the things at Tim. “Can we go now?”

Tim blinked. Glanced down at the stuff he was holding. Then glanced back at his friend.

“We got what we needed, BG. And I think I’m going to be indisposed.”

Batgirl landed on the roof beside the hero and three vigilantes. “I can see that.”

“Canyouhelpmenowplease?”

Tim glanced to the Bats and nodded at Bart. “What do you need?”

“I need you to help me clear Wally’s name.”

The Bats reared back in shock.

\---------------------------------

Now dressed as civilians, the four were at Bat Burger, hoping to avoid Bruce. It was no secret Bruce was one of the ones in favor of locking Wally away after the murder at Sanctuary. Jason suspected it might have something to do with Roy’s death and Jason, himself. Jason, however, had been very adamant that he was _against_ locking Wally away for murder. Not that anyone but Dick really listened.

“I don’t think Wally killed them,” Bart was insisting. “You’re not…other than Grandpa, none of the others are speedsters, and Grandpa had been out of the game for years. There are just things that don’t add up.”

“Like what?”

“The dentures shoved down Captain Steel’s throat,” Bart pointed off. “The small hole in Lagoon Boy’s chest that couldn’t possibly have been from a fist. The reality manipulation. The-”

“Reality manipulation?” Barbara cut Bart off. “I thought speedsters could do that?”

“In a sense…” Bart shrugged. “Let me explain it like this. For speedsters, there are different types of lightning streaks. The color of our lightning explains our connection to the speedforce. For example, each of us, when we started, had red lighting, as it’s the weakest connection to the speedforce. It’s common for most speedsters to have yellow. But people like Zoom have blue lighting, and that’s the most common for people when they have a connection. Beyond that is purple, and that’s rare. But its nearly impossible for a speedster to have white lightning, and the only reason Wally has white lightning was because he was trapped in the speedforce. He doesn’t use his full power though. It scares him.”

“So Wally has the ability to manipulate reality,” Tim questioned.

“Yes, but here’s the problem I had with that claim,” Bart placed the file down. “Poison Ivy described the lightning that killed them as _blue_. Which would _not_ have been able to manipulate reality on the level Wally did.”

“But you read the report, right?” Barbara pointed out. “Wally went insane-”

“That’s the other thing that doesn’t add up,” Bart stated. “Wally’s file claimed that what he saw in Sanctuary was his family. That he was grieving their loss. But after the timeline reset, his family was restored. He saved them with the Titans. So…why? Why would he suddenly start to grieve them so severely?”

“This does sound rather sketchy,” Jason admitted. “Is Harley still with Ivy?”

“As far as I know. Why?”

“We might need to have a talk now that everything has calmed down,” Jason told Babs. “I find it odd that no one asked questions.”

“Jason-!”

“No, Babs, wait,” Helena reached out for her friend. “I think Jason and Bart are right. There’s something wrong, Babs. From an outside perspective, as someone who wasn’t grieving a loss from Sanctuary, this whole thing just sounds sketchy. And your dad is the Commissioner. Haven’t you ever heard about not getting ‘attached’ during a case? What if there is something bigger going on, and because you were all so emotionally compromised, it becomes too late to fix it.”

Babs had to pause. It was true. Every single person involved in figuring out what happened at Sanctuary had been affected in some way. It had shifted their judgment, and when Wally confessed, it seemed like a means to an end. They hadn’t questioned it. Hadn’t second guessed why a member of their own would do such a thing.

Wally confessed and the case was dropped.

“Fine,” Babs sighed. “But I’m coming with.”

Helena and Jason both nodded as they gathered their food and made their way to Ivy’s Jungle. Tim, Bart and Babs followed close behind, not daring to break the concentration the two were under.

“No.”

“We’re not going in, Ivy,” Jason assured. “We just have some questions.”

“About what? I have done nothing.”

“We know,” Helena placated, holding her hands up in surrender. “We’re just getting our facts straight.”

Ivy still didn’t seem to trust them, but she gave a nod of her head to let them continue.

“The lighting at Sanctuary. You described it as blue, correct?”

Ivy glared at Jason. “Yes.”

Helena and Jason exchanged glances, an entire conversation passing between them.

“Are you doubting my word?” Ivy demanded.

“No, not your word,” Jason shook his head. “Just what actually happened.”

“I know what happened,” Ivy snapped. “I _saw_ it happen. Flash showed me.”

_That_ got their attention.

\--------------------------

One quick call to Miss Martian and the group was inside Ivy’s mind. They watched as the memory of Wally’s confession played out.

“So he…saw the testimonies of several heroes, and then the speedforce lashed out and killed people,” Jason stared very hard at the frozen memory as Wally was escorted away. “But there is nothing here about those dentures in Captain Steel, or the weird hole that shot through Lagoon Boy. So what-?”

“It’s hazy,” M’gann stated.

“What?”

“The memory. Look out of the corner of your eyes. The memory itself is hazy as if it’s been tampered with in some way. Or maybe it was never a true reality to begin with.”

“What does that mean?” Helena questioned,

“Well, there are two options as to why the hazy can exist,” M’gann explained, motioning around them. “The first, and most common, is that someone deliberately altered the memories. But I’m not picking up on any tampering. The second option, and what looks the most logical, is that someone tampered with reality.”

“Then we need to go to Sanctuary,” Tim stated, looking at his friends with a hard-set determination. “Wally claimed he gave a full confession, but other than altering Booster Gold and Harley Quinn’s reality, he never said anything about manipulating Ivy’s.”

“We’ll go with ya!” Harley chirped up excitedly.

This was becoming a party, wasn’t it?

\-----------------------------

Bart’s first comment upon their landing was; “I don’t think the speedforce had anything to do with the deaths.”

“What do ya mean?” Harley eyed the speedster.

“Well, Flash is one of the fastest speedsters out there, and his connection to the speedforce is unrivaled,” Bart shrugged, reaching out. “There should be remnants of the speedforce still in the air. But…I can’t feel anything.”

Jason and Helena were already making their way up towards the house. Only, Jason suddenly stopped. The group watched as he crouched on the ground and fisted some dirt in his hand, then he glanced up and around himself. Searching.

“Something’s not right,” Jason whispered to Helena. “Sanctuary is supposed to be a place of hope.”

“Yeah…”

“So why does it feel like complete despair?”

“People died here, Jason.”

“Yeah,” Jason nodded. “But this place. It’s making the Lazarus in me go crazy.”

Helena’s eyes widened. “Jas-!”

“I’m in control right now,” Jason assured. “You’ll know when I’m not. And I expect you to keep your promise, Helena.”

She nodded; fist clenched at her side. For her friend and partner, she would keep her promise. Even if it hurt.

“Let’s go further,” Jason motioned to the house with his chin, removing his helmet so Helena could see his eyes. Just in case. “Maybe we’ll find the source.”

Bart tried to feel for the speedforce again, M’gann and Tim staying close as they walked the field. Jason had left a mark at where he believed Wally ‘let lose’ and ‘killed’ nearly everyone. But Bart was unable to feel any trace of the speedforce outside of his own connection. His began to zip around the property, stopping on occasions to try and reach out for something. Anything. Meanwhile, Ivy, Harley, and Batgirl watched on.

“Its faint,” Jason whispered. “This feeling of hopelessness. Whatever caused it is long gone.”

“But the Lazarus Pit won’t provide enough evidence that something happened,” Helena pointed out.

“No, but we might be able to figure something out,” Jason turned to one of the machines that had been shut down. “After all, these things were meant to forget _after_ the hero left.”

“And if there isn’t enough information in the robots? I doubt Batman left the information lying around.”

“True. But I hear a miss Lane got some pretty interesting stories.”

“We can’t keep running all over the place,” Helena pointed out. “We’ll need to get other people involved.”

“We can do that,” Jason shrugged as he got the robot working again. “I had thing with Supergirl awhile back.”

Helena gave him a look.

“Not like that,” Jason scoffed. “I may have flirted to tick off her boyfriend, but we were doing a case.”

“Whatever you say, boy wonder,” Helena shrugged.

“Stop it.”

“Make me.”

Jason rolled his eyes and went back to work. He wasn’t doing _that_ fight again.

“Got it,” Jason grinned as the screen nearby flickered to life. “Let me just give Kara a call and we’ll go from there.”

Helena rolled her eyes at the blatant dodge and moved to stare at the screen.

\----------------------------------------------

Kara sipped her tea as Lois searched through the information, she had received from The Puddler. Jason request had been odd, and Clark was definitely uncomfortable, but Jason was stubborn. Not to mention, when not mad out of his mind, he was a good judge of character. Hence why he tested her boyfriend.

“Here we go,” Lois slapped the information in front of Kara. “Knock yourself out.”

Kara did just that, glad Jon was out of town with Damian, trying to help him through some crisis or whatever. It was a few hours later that Clark came to check on her.

“What is this about, Kara?”

“Jason thinks something big happened at Sanctuary.”

Silence.

“Bigg-er,” Kara corrected. “Impulse visited Red Robin while he was working a case with Huntress, Red Hood, and Batgirl. They got into a discussion about Flash’s testimony, and how some things seemed off, or what not. They’re at Sanctuary now, and something there made the Lazarus in Jason go a bit crazy.”

Clark’s expression shifted.

“Not like that,” Kara protested. “He said it was like despair. That it was remnants of a feeling of hopelessness, or something. The only reason he felt it was because the Pit was inside him, and it wasn’t strong enough to make him go crazy.”

“And what are you hoping to find in those confessions?”

“I’ve already found it.”

Clark cocked a brow in question.

“Hopelessness.”

“That’s not going to prove Wally’s innocence to a judge,” Clark pointed out.

“No, but it proves that there was something more at work,” Kara held up the confessions. “Especially since every single hero who stayed at Sanctuary around the time Wally was there experienced the same thing.”

That was…startling. And horrifying.

\-----------------------------

Proof but no evidence was frustrating. It was the same as having no evidence whatsoever. They were eating Chinese Take-out at a hotel they booked so they could brainstorm ideas. There were no ideas. Just take-out. Good take-out, but not the same as having literally no evidence to clear Wally.

“Whoever this was did a good job of covering their tracks.”

“It’s stupid.”

“Yeah.”

“So what now?”

Jason grit his jaw. “I don’t know.”

“JASON! HELENA!”

The two bolted up, spilling sweet and sour chicken and chicken lo mein all over the hotel bed. Neither cared as the barged into the main sitting room to come face to face with a few people.

“I heard you were looking into what happened at sanctuary. I want in.”

Jason and Helena locked eyes with Booster Gold, the determination on his face fiercer than anyone had ever seen. And Ted Kord stood behind him, looking wary but ready to help. Dick was eyeing Jason beside Ted, looking slightly hurt that he had been left out of clearing his best friends name. And Kara was grinning widely from the doorway. The fifth guest, however, surprised Jason and Helena.

“I hear you’re lookin for a reality bender,” John Constantine grinned. “Allow me to offer my assistance.”

Helena and Jason exchanged glances. Then they grinned.


	2. Something...or Someone...Blue

“Do you think he’s innocent?”

Batman didn’t look up from the program he was running. That didn’t mean he wasn’t listening.

“Hood seems to believe so.”

A scoff came from Diana. “I wasn’t aware his opinion still mattered to you.”

Bruce winced. He was aware that there was…something between Diana and Artemis, though with Diana still dating Steve Trevor, neither had officially acted on those feelings. The two girls were close, however, and Artemis had no qualm relaying Bruce’s treatment of Jason to Diana.

“More than I’d admit.”

The program that updated the Watchtowers security was successfully installed and Bruce turned to face Clark, Diana, Barry, Hal, and J’onn. Clark had called them all immediately after Kara left to “get help” from a few other heroes. It had been disturbing to Clark that Booster Gold wanted to help. And that Ivy and Harley were involved too. He had thought most of them would desire for Wally to be locked away at the least, if they didn’t completely despise him.

Especially Jason.

“I don’t believe in killing,” Bruce admitted. “I don’t like that it happened. And personally, even if the others prove that Wally was only a weapon, he still killed those people. I expect punishment to happen regardless. But none of us are on this jury, so we’ll see what evidence is found.”

“Then I suppose it is safe to say that M’gann found something interesting in Ivy’s mind,” J’onn spoke up. “She asked me to confirm her theory. She believes that someone altered Wally’s reality.”

That was…new and startling information.

“So, wait, are you saying Wally might _actually_ be innocent?” Hal questioned.

“I believe so,” J’onn nodded. “There is a chance that Wally wasn’t even the weapon. He was just the scapegoat.”

“And to make Wally look guiltier, he was given two scapegoats,” Diana whispered. “Scapegoats for the scapegoat.”

“But who would do something like that?” Barry asked. And for all the world, he looked like a distressed Uncle if there ever was one. He had seen Wally grown up. Mentored the kid. He’d listened to Bart’s theories but brushed them off. If Bart was right-

“Someone who could alter reality,” Clark growled.

“You have someone in mind?”

\-------------------------------

They were once more back at Sanctuary as John Constantine tried to get a feel for the area around them.

“I can’t _believe_ you didn’t tell me,” Dick hissed at Jason under his breath. “Wally is my friend.”

“That was kind of the point, Dickie,” Jason snapped back, also careful to keep his voice low. “You’re biased. And while I may be biased too, I haven’t chosen a side. Roy shouldn’t have died, but Wally shouldn’t be convicted if innocent. I can close off my emotions on these types of things. And if anything, Helena is the lead detective on this case.”

“You still should have at least told me,” Dick stressed.

Jason wasn’t sure what to say to that. He let his gaze travel to where Constantine was eyeing Sanctuary with a thoughtful gaze. The man was a genius, though a drunk more often than not. Still, Constantine had a reputation.

“Well your speed-demon is right about one thing,” Constantine pointed at Bart. “The speedforce was never actually used. Not even to go back in time. Someone else planted those memories in Wally’s head.”

“Okay,” Jason nodded. “No offense, but your word isn’t going to fly in court. And we’ve got less than two days left to find _physical_ evidence that something actually happened out of Wally’s control.”

“Well there’s no point in finding that evidence,” John burnt the rest of his cigar to ash in his palm and wrapped the ash in a handkerchief. “Flash had nothing to do with the deaths at all.”

The group of heroes stood there frozen for a moment.

“What?”

“Oi. Martian. Get over here real quick. I need you of all people to watch this. I’ll give you your evidence.”

With a few mumbled words, the group of rag-tag heroes found themselves staring at an image of the past.

“Woah,” M’gann breathed.

“Stay close, luv,” Constantine guided them towards the house. “This is about to get interesting. And be prepared for a fight.”

“Wait. They can see us?” Tim cut in.

“No. Not yet. But I suspect we’ll attract some attention by doing this. And given his history, this will be unpredictable.”

No one liked the sound of that.

Just as they began moving, Wally West appeared before them. He walked right through Bart and Ted, causing both to shiver at the odd chill. Wally, however, didn’t see them. Just as Constantine said, they were being shown what happened. Not present in the moment, but seeing reality.

“What you’re seeing is a mirror of reality,” Constantine stated. “Of the events that happened roughly six weeks before the murders upon the arrival of Wally West. I chose this particular moment because this was when our villain chose to act first.”

“Why call it a mirror?” Helena questioned.

“Because unless enchanted, mirrors rarely lie. And even then, enchanted mirrors are likely to reveal a whole truth. Now pay close attention. This is where things get tricky.”

With that, the group followed Wally into Sanctuary.

He stopped to talk with a few people. Smiling. Looking relatively fine.

Then he sat down and began his first speech.

They watched, carefully, as Wally began his first day at Sanctuary, talking to the weird robot. And then, like a switch, it was as if Wally just…seemed so lost out of nowhere.

“That’s normal,” Harley whispered. “In people who have seen too much. They shut down.”

“True. Yes. But keep watching, luv. This is where things get tricky.”

As Wally stood up, moving out of the sight of the camera, he suddenly staggered. He caught himself, but there was something…

“Can you make it go back?” Jason demanded.

Constantine rewound the image. It began to play again, and as Wally got up, Jason reached out and grabbed Constantine’s arm. The image froze.

“You see it, then?”

“Is that-?”

“It looks like-?

“Why is he blue?”

The outline of a person stood beside Wally West. It was quick, fading in the freeze frame. And Wally seemed to glare at the man. As Constantine let the image begin slowly, they watched as all traces of anger vanished as Wally stumbled.

“He was in the speedforce,” Bart breathed. “That’s why he stumbled.”

“So six weeks ago, Wally entered the speedforce, encountered a blue man, and then forgot about him?” Batgirl glanced to Jason.

“Seems sketchy,” Harley stated. “Ya shouldn’t talk to strange blue men.”

“You don’t always have a choice,” Constantine stated, glaring at the image. “I’ve never had the misfortune to speak with this man directly, but his name is Doctor Manhattan.”

Several of the heroes present jolted in shock. Superman’s confrontation with Doctor Manhattan had been one that terrified the Superhero community. Though the man was said to have left, his powers were nearly unparalleled.

“I take it this man is dangerous,” Ivy looked to the heroes.

“More than we could ever comprehend,” Batgirl gritted out. “Doctor Manhattan’s real name is John Osterman. In an experiment gone wrong, his body became blue, but his power is terrifying. He has the ability to manipulate reality and travel through time. He’s the reason that the son of Superman was seventeen after being trapped somewhere in time. Not even we are sure what the extent of his powers are, though Superman claimed to have made peace with him.”

“But with the ability to travel in time, this could just be a different version of himself before he talked with Superman,” Huntress pointed out. “He could still be messing with us throughout time and we’d never know.”

“You are, indeed, correct.”

No one was prepared for what happened next.

\--------------------------

Linda Park West glared at them from across her dining room table. Clark sipped his tea awkwardly. Diana had her head hung in shame. Barry looked as if he wanted to comfort his niece-in-law but was holding back. And Bruce remained stoic.

“So after all this time,” Linda hissed, hands shaking around her own mug of coffee. “After everything you told us, there is a chance Wally was innocent? And you never thought to look into it?”

Bruce didn’t react like the others did.

“Yes,” he stated flatly. “There aren’t enough words in any language that we can say to express how sorry we are that this happened. The jury has been made aware that new evidence is coming to light, and they are prepared to accept whatever is given to them. None of us want Wally to be a murderer, and whatever happens, we will fix this.”

“How?”

“Dick is on the team finding information,” Bruce began, and something in Linda softened. “He recently had his memories returned, and once our personal physician gave him the clear, he was going to come visit and offer help. My other son, Jason, was Roy Harper’s best friend, and Jason was _convinced_ that Wally was innocent even before Bart Allen believed there was something wrong with the testimonies given. My third son, Tim, is also helping the team trying to prove Wally’s innocent, along with Batgirl. I have no doubt that if there is evidence that Wally was never at fault, or even if he was simply the tool manipulated to cause the murderers, then they will find that evidence.”

“And if he was the tool used?”

The League finally looked at each other.

“We have it on good authority that Wally will be placed on a form of house arrest,” Clark offered. “He’ll have access to all of Central City, and we’ll allow him to use his speed. If we absolutely need him, several trusted friends will be given an override code for the device that will lock him to Central City. Wally is our friend, and the fact that we didn’t think to double check what information we were given is unforgivable.”

Linda nodded. She looked like she was going to cry. And as Barry finally let himself wrap his arms around Linda, she did just that. Meanwhile, Bruce had pulled away from the table to greet the two children that had been listening. Iris, named after the woman who raised Wally, and Jai, derived from one of the greatest speedsters Wally and Barry had ever known.

“We’ll bring your father home,” he promised them.

The twins locked hands.

“You better,” Iris hissed.

Bruce figured he deserved that.

\--------------------------------------

The odd group of heroes and misfits tensed as the scene shifted to a sort of child’s bedroom. In the bed lay a little boy, fast asleep. Doctor Manhattan himself stood beside the bed. He turned to them with a smile.

A kind one.

“You may speak freely. My son cannot hear us talking.”

“What did you do?” Ivy demanded.

“What I have done, Pamela Isley, I deeply regret,” the Doctor stated. “When Kal-El talked with me, the damage had already been done. And though I have the power to undo what I have done, I cannot change it.”

“Why?”

Doctor Manhattan sighed. “I am unable to explain in a way that will make sense. The best I can tell you is that if I were to undo the changes I caused, then the future would shift. The dangers of which could cause your world, and the multiverse itself, to be destroyed.”

“So you just intend to leave Wally as a murderer?” Impulse seethed, only stopped from charging by Jason’s quick timing. “You did this! You tore him apart!”

“I did,” and Doctor Manhattan looked truly remorseful. Maybe Superman had gotten through. “I have many, many regrets, Bartholomew Allen. Many I know I can never correct. But I will do what I can. Starting with Wally West.”

And before anyone could react, Doctor Manhattan placed a finger to M’gann’s head and planted his memories of the events into her mind. When he was finished, the group found themselves back in Sanctuary.

“Miss Martian?” Tim stepped towards his friend.

“I…” she choked. “He gave me…I have…”

M’gann was in tears as she glanced up to the group of stunned heroes and misfits.

“Wally is innocent.”

\-------------------------

Barely a day later, Dick, Harley, Ivy, Jason, Barbara and Booster Gold went to confront Wally West in his cell about the evidence. Lian Harper went with them, hoping to convince Wally to plead not guilty. That following morning, Wally looked to the little girl who was practically his niece before pleading **NOT** guilty, much to the relief of the rag-tag group of misfit heroes.

M’gann then showed the Justice League what really happened.

The memory started with Wally running through what had to be the speedforce. Clearly trying to get _someone_ to recognize him. It was a fools hope, even in his own mind. But it was not Wally’s own thoughts that gave them this knowledge. It was Doctor Manhattan who stopped Wally.

“How odd you are, to continue this race without having any hope.”

“I have hope,” Wally snapped. “And…you’re blue…?”

“It is a fools hope, and one that will be your downfall, as well as the downfall of the human race.”

“Is that a threat?” Wally snarled. “Listen, pal. I don’t know who you are, or why you’re here, but if you threaten Earth-!”

“Earth is a threat to itself,” Doctor Manhattan brushed off. “That is why I destroyed my own world.”

“You-!?”

“And this world, too, shall fall to ruin,” Doctor Manhattan turned away. “And there will be nothing to stop it.”

“We’ll stop you!” Wally screamed after the Doctor. “Because you’re wrong! Humans are not foolish for their hope! Hey! HEY!”

But Doctor Manhattan was gone, and Wally kept moving, a new vigor driving him. He had to warn people. The problem was, as Wally stumbled out of the speedforce, he couldn’t remember his encounter with Doctor Manhattan. Because Doctor Manhattan would not let him remember.

Then the memory changed. To Sanctuary.

“So you escaped,” Doctor Manhattan greeted Wally as he stumbled. “How predictable.”

“You-”

“Ah. Ah,” Doctor Manhattan held up a hand. “I wouldn’t if I were you. You see, I control this domain.”

Wally’s body tensed.

“What are you going to do?”

“This world will end,” Doctor Manhattan stated. “And it will begin through you.”

Wally stumbled back into the room at Sanctuary, no time having passed. From there, the group watched as the seed of doubt and hopelessness Doctor Manhattan placed at Sanctuary began to grow and fester to every hero that stepped foot on the property. And when the time came, Wally had ‘lost it’. However, it wasn’t the speedforce that killed those people. No, they watched as Doctor Manhattan appeared behind Wally as the guy screamed in agony at the memories forced on him Doctor Manhattan. Forced trauma overloading Wally.

The speedforce shut down, locking inside Wally, creating the reason why Wally couldn’t bring Ivy back right away. And with the speedforce inactive, Doctor Manhattan made it seem as though the speedforce had lashed out to kill others, then he made Harley and Booster Gold the scapegoats of his scapegoat. Shoved his father’s dentures down Captain Steel’s throat. And made Lagoon Boy relive his own death with something like a laser shooting through his chest.

With the entire court room reeling, the jury demanded everyone take a break.

They had a lot to discuss.

\------------------------

“Why is this taking so long?” Bart groaned. “He’s not guilty. Why would they need to debate that?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Dick shrugged, glancing to his best friend. “Wally may not have committed the murder, but it really messed with his psyche. He _wants_ a punishment. They’re trying to decide what would help Wally’s mental state and remind him he’s innocent.”

“Then give him a proper shrink,” Harley huffed. “No offense ta the JL, but using robots was a terrible idea. He needs an actual person ta talk ta. Someone who can tell him he’s wrong or right, divide reality from fiction.”

“Why not you, Harley?” M’gann looked to the woman. “I mean, you do have a degree, and you’ve been trying to be better, right?”

Harley made a face. “That’s just crazy talk,” she brushed off. “I’m not a good shrink. Never was. I mean, look what it made me!”

“Well that’s not fair,” Helena butted in. “Harley, you were manipulated by a mad man. No one can fault you for that. Shrink or not, no one is just suddenly exempt from being abused just because we know what signs to look for. Besides, now that it’s happened, you know better than most shrinks what signs are out there. How many kids were abused and brushed off by their shrink? How many men and women in an abusive relationship have been shut down by a shrink? I’d say you’re extra qualified.”

“Huh,” Harley looked away from all the heroes. “I never thought of it like that.”

“We’re not saying you have to do it, Harley,” Babs assured her. “It’s just an idea. Honestly, I think an actual psychiatrist would be a good idea. We’d just need to find one we can trust.”

Harley glanced over to the voice that had been silent.

“Hey,” Hood shrugged. “If that’s what you want to do, knock yourself out. You and I both know my opinion of you being anywhere near that clown.”

Harley grinned at him but was unable to say much else as the jury returned. The group held their breaths as Black Lightning stepped forward.

“Given the evidence presented today and the truth behind what happened at Sanctuary, we of the jury of the Justice League declare Wallace West: Not Guilty.”

The sheer relief that flooded through their rag-tag team was blocked out by Harley’s cheers of delight.

Jason sagged, hoping beyond hope that Roy was proud of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my fix-it fic. It needed to be done, so I'll just leave it here.


End file.
